The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-06-12
SHOT IN THEIR GOOD CLOTHES.
The Gorgeous Uniforms in Which

The Gorgeous Uniforms in Which
French Soldiers Have Gone to Battle.
The soldiers of Napoleon /. went into bat
tie in their dress uniforms His gorgeous
infantry charged the enemy in fantastic
CATERS with forty buttons, and the guard
wore into the fight hats which We're deco
rated with plumes yard long, Every pri
waite wore epaulets. But in our great war,
SAYS the Youths Companion, even the Off
GERS discarded epaulets except for the most
ceremonious occasions, and replaced them
with simple shoulder straps.
Like a field of ripe wheat" says "a
French historian, "waved the long plumeS
of the guard when they went into battle,
and the enemy, recognizing at a distance
these intrepid plunles, cried in indescribabie
terror: 1t is the guard And the battle
was half won already"
During the campaign of 1859 in Italy the
Third Regiment OF the French grenadiers,
supported by the Zouaves, were drawn up
facing 10000 Austrians during four hours
under broiling sun.
They were hardly comfortable, these
grenadiers, for they were compelled to
wear their immense bear-sl1in shakos every
moment of this time, to say nothing of their
heavy braided coats and the knapsacks upon
their backs. Under the murderous sun
some Of the grenadiers had taken off their
shakos.
Gen Wimpffen, who commanded the
brigade, ordered the great hats to be re-
placed.
THE grenadiers," he said, Eight in their
shakos Cost what it may we must hold
our own And now, boys, forward"
The grenadiers saved the day at Magenta,
and the next day the big bear-slSin hats
could be counted on the field of battle by
hundreds.
lone would think there had been battle
of bears here" some one said. with melan-
choly smile, in passing the scene.
Several days later, on the plain of Me-
dole, the Emperor Napoleon III, riding
across the field, found that Gen. Anger, who
commanded a battery which was the key
of the whole engagement, had lost his left
arm and that his shoulder had been broken
by shot from an Austrian cannon. The
General, surrounded by surgeons, was dying
beneath tree on the plain. He was still
conscious, although speeches..
The Emperor, greatly moved and wishing
to convey some sign to the dying officer that
he was raised before his death to the rank
of genei al of division for his bravery on
the field, unfastened one of his own epau-
let's from his shoulder and put it into the
dying mans hand The General smiled
family, pressed the epaulet to his lips, and
died.
The Emperor reioined his staff with one
shoulder bare Of its epaulet, and the rumor
quickly spread abroad that he had had the
epaulet shot away.
Even in the war between the French and
Germans, in 1870, the officers still wore epau-
let's In the field At the battle of Grave
lotte a squadron of French dragons charged
a column Of Prussian hussars who had taken
them in the flank.
In the violence of the shock two of the
opposing horsemen, both dismounted, found
themselves cut off from the rest of the
commands. One was Major of the Ger
man Hussars and the other an Adiutant
of the French Dragons They faced each
other, sabers in hand The Major dealt the
Adiutant terrific blow. The Frenchman
parried it, but the Germans weapons struck
his epaulet and cut it off; the saber broke in
two like piece of glass.
The Adjutant sprang upon his disarmed
enemy and placed the point of his saber to
his throat. .9d2 lia.'
Surrender" he cried. 'f'"You are I'M
~ RYYll me-" said the hussar, coolly, drop
pillg his broken sword and reaching as if for
his revolver 81 am not unarmed; have a
revolver"
-. l,,,;;!sBAAh" said the, Frenchman. There
ism t&bs shot in it.
1t 8as true, and the Adjutant led his
pris8ner away. 1t is hard to tell which
more to admire-the officer who, in order
that his fate might be death rather than
surrender, resorted to heroic subterfuge,
or the one who preferred to risk his own
life rather than strike disaImed enemy